Suhana, Sara, other star kids trolled: Here's how you should deal with online hate
By virtue of being the son or daughter of a celebrity, many little children often grow up in the public glare. Not only does this mean they can’t enjoy normal childhood, they’ve become the targets of vicious online trolling too. Take for instance the picture Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana posted of herself in a bikini recently; she was criticised mericilessly.
The picture activated haters and trolls who then started moral policing the 18-year-old — with some even lecturing her about how she isn’t a good ‘Muslim’ and doesn’t respect the Indian culture.
SRK isn’t oblivious to this unnecessary attention. He says, “Yes, sometimes privacy is invaded. In the end, they are Shah Rukh Khan’s children. So, they have to deal with it.”
Sachin Tendulkar’s teenage daughter Sara too was at the receiving end of some distasteful trolling, that too for no fault of her own!
People are not sensitive about others. As a parent, you have to be careful and teach your children to not post anything out of anger, sorrow, and over-excitement. You have to safeguard yourself
— Neena Gupta
A bogus twitter account named @SaraSachin_rt created havoc on Twitter by posting a Tweet, “Everyone knows that Sharad Pawar NCP looted Maharashtra state but little known that he tried centre too (sic).” Just moments after this tweet, Sara was attacked by the online troll army. But her doting father immediately came to her rescue by clarifying, “I reiterate the fact that my children Arjun & Sara are not on Twitter. We request @Twitter to remove all such accounts at the earliest. Impersonation wrecks havoc, creates misunderstanding & traumatises us (sic).” Director Pooja Bedi, whose daughter has been criticised for some bold posts, feels celebrities need to prepare their kids for a life under the spotlight.
“If you are a star parent and if your children are entering the industry, you have to teach them coping and life skills. My daughter Aalia got some obscene comments on some of her posts. She could have gotten upset or deleted her account. However, instead she came up with her blog called ‘I am more than my breast’. It was a very powerful blog and she got a lot of support,” says Pooja.
Internet expert Akshay Bardapurkar is of the opinion that all children should be protected, regardless of who their parents are. He feels trolls need to be reprimanded, “It is important to bring these incidents to the notice of the authorities. Children need to be protected, whether they belong to celebrities or not. Strict action needs to be taken,” he concludes.
(With inputs from Sanskriti Media and Vanessa Viegas)
HT03
